Cortez Watch

I’m still debating whether Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s Excellent Adventure deserves a regular tracking item here on Power Line, but she’s making a strong bid for it.

As everyone used to learn in school, when the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez arrived to conquer Mexico in 1519, he burned his ships to motivate his troops to fight harder against the Aztecs. (It is more likely that the ships were sunk rather than burned, but hey, as they say in Liberty Valance, “print the legend.”) Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez may have been inspired by the Cortez legend, because one of her first acts since winning her House race is to burn her bridges with Nancy Pelosi.

I thought this picture below was from some years ago, but no—it is from today:

This is sure to impress Speaker-presumptive Pelosi. (ABC News has Twitter video here, and it’s priceless. And Politico has a writeup here.)

NEW YORK — Incoming freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a darling of the liberal left, criticized Amazon’s decision to site half of its second headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. She ripped the reported tax breaks the company will receive and described the local community’s reaction to the news as “outrage.”

The Democrat’s response puts distance between her and some of the state’s top Democrats, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who have been involved in negotiations over the deal. Ocasio-Cortez’s position on Amazon may further cement her status as an outsider among New York’s establishment Democrats. . .

Looks as though every move and every statement Ocasio-Cortez makes is going to get lavishly covered. It’s almost like her name was “Beto” or something. How long before we start hearing “Ocasio-Cortez 2020?” (Never mind that she’s not old enough to run for president yet. I’m sure she can find a judge somewhere who will permit her to “identify” as a 35-year old.)

Actually on this point I think she is right. Stopped clock and all that. Conservatives have long attacked tax giveaways to attract industry. Nice to see some of the slow learners finally coming around. Though there is one thing she still doesn’t grasp. She thinks Amazon should move to Queens and pay New York’s high taxes, because she wants more money for public needs. But Amazon is not going to pay those high taxes. There are two ways Amazon is not going to pay those taxes: they are not going to pay those taxes if they locate some other state, and they are not going to pay those taxes if they locate in Queens. Either way, New York is not getting those taxes. Why is that so hard for liberal politicians to understand? It’s the world they made.